Benchtop sander?

[Ian]

I've been toying with the idea of a benchtop sander/buffer, like the one Weaver sells (spindles coming out horizontal). Rather than fork out the bucks, I was wondering if a similar small sander is used in woodworking, or other industries, if so, what is the correct name for such a tool, so I can search for it. Also, has anyone converted a small grinding wheel for that purpose, and if so, what would be needed to convert it to a sander?

Info would be much appreciated.

[Jordan]

Least expensive would be to buy an arbor, I think a place like harbor freight would have one at a reasonable price, a fan belt and an old motor like from a washing machine. Mount it all on a board with an on/off switch and there you have it. There are plans out there on wood working sites. Guitar building sites have them for buffing (LMI or Stewmac) but they are pricy.

[DCKNIVES]

Ian, I presently have 5 sanders and am building one more, but I am also a knifemaker.Several of my sanders are used daily for leather too, but the big issue of using a sander on leather is speed.Most store bought sanders are too fast to be good for leather and you have to use a light touch to keep from burning the leather.Variable speed is the way to go, but is more pricey.Step pulleys are the least expensive way to VS or the VSD (variable speed drive)the more expensive but better way.If you google up Coote grinders, you see a very good unit that can be configured with either pulleys or VSD, probably about $750, or you can go up to a Burr-King( mine cost $2500).Both are probably more than most leatherworkers will spend but I can turn down the speed on my BK to a crawl and it really speeds up my leather work.You can see my grinders on my webpage.Let me know if I can help.Dave

[Ian]

You can see my grinders on my webpage.Let me know if I can help.Dave

Thanks Dave - yes, that's kind of pricey for me, but I checked out your website, and your work is awesome. Thanks for taking the time to reply

Least expensive would be to buy an arbor, I think a place like harbor freight would have one at a reasonable price, a fan belt and an old motor like from a washing machine. Mount it all on a board with an on/off switch and there you have it. There are plans out there on wood working sites. Guitar building sites have them for buffing (LMI or Stewmac) but they are pricy.

Thanks Jordan, I'll start my search at Harbor Freight

[UKRay]

I'm in complete agreement with Dave about the speed issues associated with belt sanders as I have come to realize that my little belt sander is waaay too fast. I'm not able to shell out the big bucks for a variable speed sander right now and will have to make do with another cheapo version. I just wondered if anyone knew what speed would work best - given that smaller, cheaper sanders ALWAYS seem to run too fast.

A speed of 490 metres per min. (call that around 1700 feet per minute for arguments sake) is available with a Record Power sander here in the UK - this seems to be fairly standard.

http://www.toolbaydirect.co.uk/product_inf...=52&id=5301

Any thoughts on this speed thing?

Ray

[hidepounder]

Ian,

I'm not sure which Weaver set up you're referring to, but take a look at Grizzly, they have a lot of sanding & buffing setups to look at. If nothing else you may ge an idea of what you want to build.

Bob

[TwinOaks]

Box fans (~$20) typically have at least three speeds. There's your relatively low rpm motor for a leather sander/ burnisher. Mount the motor and control to a 2x4, mount a pulley further down the board and there's a belt sander. Extend the shaft from the motor (or add to it) and use a burnisher to hold the pulley/belt in place. Now you can sand and burnish all at the same station.

Just wondering about something....

Has anyone made a concave pulley for their belt sander? It just seems to be a really easy way to get the rounding started on an edge.

Edited July 23, 2009 by TwinOaks

[iwannabeacowboy]

I've been using this in the drill press and it also fits on the shaft of the motor I have a burnishing head on. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...temnumber=35455 can't go wrong for the $. 4 sizes and you can cut sheets to fit them. It's got a cam lock to hold the sand paper on. The drill press I got there to. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...temnumber=38119 works pretty good for the money

Charlie

[Ian]

Ian,

I'm not sure which Weaver set up you're referring to, but take a look at Grizzly, they have a lot of sanding & buffing setups to look at. If nothing else you may ge an idea of what you want to build.

Bob

Bob, the one I'm looking at is the power edge slicker with a sanding drum on one spindle and a slicker on the other

Then, I found this too

http://www.amazon.com/Jet-577110-JSB-10L-1...r/dp/B00062NEXW but I see it's 1700rpm

Edited July 24, 2009 by Ian

[King's X]

Just FYI, Harbor Freight has a small variable speed grinder type set up for $29.99? I bought one and wanted to plan some thing similar to your idea. Please post pictures if you get some thing set up.